How to redact a PDF properly
Open Remove areas, drag across everything that should go, and press Remove them. Each marked page is rebuilt as a picture with those parts painted out, so the hidden text cannot be copied or recovered.
Remove areasFree. Nothing is uploaded.
How to do it
- Open Remove areas and add the PDF.
- Drag across each name, number or photo that should go.
- Open Find and remove to mark every Aadhaar, PAN, phone number, email, card number or word you type.
- Check every page, then press Remove them.
- Save the redacted copy and keep the original private.
Why black boxes fail
Most editors redact by drawing a black box over the words. The words stay in the file underneath, and anyone can select them, copy them or search for them. Documents have been leaked exactly this way. Real redaction has to take the words out, and that is what this tool does.
The cost, honestly
A marked page becomes a picture of itself. It looks the same, but its other words can no longer be selected or searched, and any form answers on that page go too. Pages you do not mark are left as they were. If the file must be searchable again, run Make searchable on the result; the removed parts are paint, so there is nothing there to read back.
Hidden details beyond the page
A PDF can also carry an author name, the program that made it, comments and attached files. Clean hidden data strips those. Painting over words with Edit text does not redact: the old words remain underneath.
A worked example
You are sending a bank statement to show your salary credits, and want to hide your account number, your address and every other transaction. Open Remove areas and add it. Open Find and remove, tick card numbers and phone numbers, type your account number and street name in the words box, and tap Find and mark them. Check each mark, then drag across the other transaction lines by hand. Press Remove them and look through the result.
Checking a redaction
Open the redacted copy and try to select text on a marked page: nothing can be selected, because the page is now a picture. Search for the hidden name with your reader’s find; it should not be found on that page. If a page you did not mark still shows the name, it was missed, so go back to the original, mark it too, and run it again.
Common mistakes
Missing the second copy: names and numbers often appear again in a header, a footer, a signature block or a photo of an ID. Redacting the original and keeping no clean copy for your own records. And trusting a highlighter set to black, or a black shape in a drawing app: both cover the words, and neither removes them.
Questions people ask
What can Find and remove look for?
Aadhaar numbers, PAN numbers, phone numbers, email addresses and card numbers, plus any words or names you type, separated by commas.
Does it find numbers in a scan?
Not as it is: a scan is a picture with no text to search. Run Make searchable first and then search, checking every mark, or drag across those parts by hand.
Is my document uploaded?
No. Redaction happens in your browser. The document never leaves your device.
Does redaction make the file bigger?
Marked pages become pictures, which are usually larger than text, so the file may grow. Compress can bring it down afterwards.
Can I redact on my phone?
Yes. Drag across each part with your finger; zoom in first for small print, so the mark covers every letter.
Can the black areas be taken off later?
No. They are part of the picture the page became; there is nothing underneath to uncover.
Your file stays on your device. Foolscap does the work inside your browser, so nothing is uploaded and there is nothing for anyone to keep. How you can check